Mahathir opposes regular APEC meetings<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): With the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation
\n(APEC) leadership conference in Indonesia just a few weeks away,
\nMalaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad yesterday spoke against
\nregular meetings by the forum as part of his overall objection
\ntowards its institutionalization.<\/p>\n
\"We don't think that we should have fixed meetings of heads of
\ngovernment, fixed meetings of ministers of different ministries,
\nor even senior officials meetings,\" Mahathir told reporters at
\nthe conclusion of his two-day working visit.<\/p>\n
He stressed the he objected to any move to institutionalize
\nthe five-year old forum.<\/p>\n
The second APEC leadership meeting, scheduled to take place in
\nnearby Bogor on Nov. 15, was one of the topics which Mahathir
\ndiscussed during his meeting with President Soeharto on Friday.<\/p>\n
The Malaysian leader stayed away from the inaugural APEC
\nleadership meeting on Blake Island, Seattle, last year, after
\ncriticizing the host United States of trying to turn the forum
\ninto another of its spheres of influence.<\/p>\n
APEC groups Canada, the United States, Mexico, Japan, China,
\nTaiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Papua New
\nGuinea and the six members of the Association of South East Asian
\nNations (ASEAN) -- Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, the
\nPhilippines, Brunei and Indonesia. Chile will formally join the
\ngroup this November.<\/p>\n
Mahathir said Soeharto had explained the concept of free trade
\nwithin the region within a specific time frame whereby the
\ndeveloped countries would liberalize their markets five to 10-
\nyears faster than the less developed ones.<\/p>\n
\"We don't ever want it to become a formal trade,\" Mahathir
\nsaid, adding that he would prefer to keep APEC as a very loose
\nforum.\"There should not be too rapid a progress for APEC.\"<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, in response questions, Mahathir said he would
\nattend the Bogor meeting.<\/p>\n
He emphasized that the forum must not in any way overshadow
\nASEAN.<\/p>\n
His position contrasts sharply with the recommendation made by
\nAPEC's Eminent Persons' Group whose latest report issued last
\nmonth proposed that the forum move to turn the Asia Pacific
\nregion into a free trade area. The group's report is expected to
\nfeature prominently in the APEC's ministerial conference in
\nJakarta in November preceding the leadership meeting.<\/p>\n
ASEAN members from the outset have stated that APEC must
\nremain a loose, informal consultative forum as stipulated in the
\n1990 Kuching declaration.<\/p>\n
Recently during an APEC senior officials meeting in
\nYogyakarta, the director general of foreign economic relations at
\nthe Indonesian foreign ministry, denied that ASEAN had changed
\nits attitude towards APEC. He said that ASEAN continues to be
\nwary of APEC and that the forum must not dilute the cohesiveness
\nof ASEAN.<\/p>\n
Russia<\/p>\n
When queried on the possibility of countries such as Cambodia,
\nVietnam, Peru, and Russia taking part in a number APEC's
\nactivities, Mahathir said he welcomed the idea.<\/p>\n
He said issues such as human rights and democratization should
\nnot be made as prerequisites to join the forum.<\/p>\n
If there are such problems it should be discussed internally
\nwithin APEC, Mahathir remarked.<\/p>\n
He emphasized that the membership of the forum should be open
\nto all countries bordering on the Pacific.<\/p>\n
Touching on the dispute of Sipadan and Ligitan islands,
\nMahathir said both Indonesia and Malaysia have agreed to discuss
\nthe matter further.<\/p>\n
In recent negotiations the two parties reached an impasse when
\nMalaysia proposed arbitration through the International Court of
\nJustice. (mds)<\/p>",
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